After seven years of restoration, a 120-year-old Bulgarian church in Istanbul, overlooking the Golden Horn, has reopened in the presence of Turkish and Bulgarian leaders.
A church that has played an important role in Bulgarian history reopened on Sunday in Istanbul in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov.
Patriarch Neofit of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople led prayers together in the newly renovated Church of St Stefan.
“This is a great day, and a very good investment in the future. Let us show the whole of Europe and the Christian world that we can improve relations with our biggest neighbour [Turkey]. Small as we are, we will try to contribute to this mutual understanding, Borissov said on Sunday.
Yildirim greeted Bulgaria’s assumption of the EU Presidency.
“During your Presidency good messages have started to appear from our European friends. We had no problems with Europe before, but let us today send the message: ‘Let us be tolerant,'” the Turkish Prime Minister said.
President Erdogan said the reopening of the landmark church during the Bulgarian presidency of the EU sent an important message to the international community.
After decades of neglect, the church, also known as the “Iron Church”, because it was made of metal, has gone through a full restoration, which started in 2011.
Over 40 Turkish restorers and builders worked on the project, co-funded by the Turkish and Bulgarian states.
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